Seed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of plants as a main or exclusive food source (Hulme and Benkman 2002), in many cases leaving the seeds damaged and not viable. Granivores are found across many families of vertebrates and invertebrates (especially mammals, birds and insects) (Janzen 1971); thus, seed predation occurs in virtually all ecosystems (see further readings). Seed predation is commonly divided into two distinctive temporal categories, pre-dispersal and post-dispersal predation, which may involve different strategies and requirements and have different implications at the individual and population level. Nevertheless, regardless of timing, seed predation has great implications for plant population dynamics (see below). To counterbalance effects of predation, plants have evolved defenses such as seed morphology (size, shape, toughness) and chemical defenses (secondary compounds such as tannins Tannins are astringent, bitter plant polyphenols that either bind and precipitate or shrink proteins. The astringency from the tannins is what causes the dry and puckery feeling in the mouth following the consumption of unripened fruit or red wine Likewise, the destruction or modification of tannins with time plays an important role in the and alkaloids Alkaloids are naturally occurring chemical compounds containing basic nitrogen atoms. The name derives from the word alkaline and was used to describe any nitrogen-containing base. Alkaloids are produced by a large variety of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, plants, and animals and are part of the group of natural products . Many alkaloids) to defend against their seed predators (see below). However, as plants have adapted defenses to seed predation (e.g., chemical compounds), so have seed predators adapted to plant defenses (e.g., ability to detoxify chemical compounds). Thus, many interesting examples of coevolution In a broad sense, biological coevolution is "the change of a biological object triggered by the change of a related object". Coevolution can occur at multiple levels of biology: it can be as microscopic as correlated mutations between amino acids in a protein, or as macroscopic as covarying traits between different species in an arise from this dynamic relationship.
Strawberry Garden strawberries are a common kind of strawberry cultivated worldwide. Like other species of Fragaria , it belongs to the family Rosaceae. Technically, it is not a fruit, but a false fruit, meaning the fleshy part is derived not from the plant's ovaries (achenes) but from the peg at the bottom of the bowl-shaped hypanthium that holds the fruit damaged by a mouse A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (Mus musculus). It is also a popular pet. The American white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and the deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) also sometimes live in houses. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common eating the seeds
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Hart
Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:59:00 GM
At Las Alturas, we also collected boatloads and boatloads of fruits for another round of . seed predation. experiments. We owe our . seed. -success to a stroke of luck. An enormous branch dripping with had fallen right next to the trail. ...
